Page 87 - CH 2-2023 EN

The answers from the last issue
Caucasus
A mountain range west of the Caspian Sea
The Caucasus is a mountain range stretching for over 1,000 kilometres between the eastern shore of the Black Sea and the western shore of the Caspian Sea. The countries located in the Caucasus region include Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia and the Russian Republic of Dagestan. The region is home to many well-known carpet provenances, often marketed under the general catch-all name of “Kazakh” rugs. Strictly speaking however, this term should only be used for carpets from the Kazakh region in the southern Caucasus. Even the famous Ea- gle Kazakh is not from the Kazakh region, being made instead in Chelaberd in Karabakh. Other major provenances include Shirvan, Genje and Moghan. The patterns of these carpets are found on many new products made in Afghanistan and Paki- stan.
Raj
A knot density metric commonly used in Iran
In Iran, knot density is stated in raj in some carpet prove- nances. This metric refers to the number of knots per gireh, which is a measure of length used in Iran. The number of knots in the warp and weft directions is assumed to be iden- tical. A carpet with a knot density of 50 raj has 2,500 knots per square gireh. One gireh represents one-sixteenth of a sar, the length of which is approximately 110 cm, varying by locality. In Tabriz for example this length is 107 cm, but in Kerman it is 112 cm. A 50-raj Tabriz has 510,000 knots per square metre.
Berber knot
A knot commonly used in North Africa
The Berber knot, as dis-
tinct from symmetrical
and asymmetrical knots,
has only one knot bow,
but it loops around two
warp threads. Only the
carpet-knotting nomads of
North Africa use this knot
today; otherwise the symmetrical knot is the domi- nant technique in Morocco. Distinction is made be- tween simple and double Berber knots, being made from either one single strand (simple: two pile tips per knot) or two strands (double: four pile tips per knot). Triple knots are possible too, i.e. with six pile threads per knot.
Afshar
A Persian carpet provenance
The Afshars are a nomadic people who today mainly live in the region between the Iranian cities of Shi- raz, Yasd and Kerman. The carpets they make are principally square in format and feature distinctly traditional patterns, yet come in many and varied designs. Urban and nomadic influences are appar- ent in the more geometric patterns used. Vase motifs are quite common, for example, derived from Ker- man vase rugs of antiquity.
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